"Of course they did," Sarraya grinned. "This is outside their clan territory. They're trying to catch up with us."
"I warned them!" Tarrin seethed. "When I get my paws on them-"
"Oh, hush," Sarraya said in a curt tone. "Since Jegojah here isn't a threat anymore, what harm is it to let them come with us? I miss them. They're much better travelling companions than you two sourpusses."
Tarrin glared at her, then he broke out laughing, for some mysterious reason. She was right, of course. Even he missed them, and they could still be useful in guiding him to the mountain pass quickly. Time was now an issue, and he had none of it to spare. Var and Denai would save him many days of floundering around.
"Alright, alright," he chuckled. "Go get them, Sarraya. But make sure they know that I'm very unhappy that they followed us."
"Ooh, I get to tell them about all sorts of nasty plans you have for them," she said, rubbing her hands together. "This is going to be so much fun!" Then she darted off into the city.
"Not much, it takes, to please her, yes," Jegojah chuckled in that cackling tone.
"Not much," he agreed, standing up.
"Did the talk go well?"
"Well enough. I've warned everyone. Now it's up to Kerri to bring it all together and hammer out a plan. Knowing her, she'll have something by tonight."
"This Wikuni, she must be something special, yes?"
"You have no idea," he said with a nod. "There's nobody in the world like Kerri."
"So what now?"
"Now, we wait," he replied. "After I talk to the Aeradalla, we'll start out."
"Then Jegojah, he will wait as well. Until ye be on the way, Were-cat, Jegojah, he will stay with ye, yes. Two days, it is not a great matter, no. Time, plenty remains, yes. A boon of ye?"
"What is it?"
"More maps, Jegojah needs, yes," he said. "An understanding Jegojah, he needs, of the terrain. A better idea of the ki'zadun's movements, Jegojah seeks, yes."
"No problem," he told him, forming the image of detailed maps of the kingdoms involved in the plan, then touching his Druidic power and willing them into existence. They appeared in his paw, four maps rolled up together, one of each of the three kingdoms, and a map of the Petal lakes. He handed them over to the undead warrior.
"Jegojah thanks ye, yes. Time, he is moving, and Jegojah has much to learn."
Tarrin ambled off towards the firepit. He was hungry, and a meal of bread and berries wasn't enough this time. He was going to conjure up some beef, and wait for Var and Denai.
And read them the riot act when they arrived.
He didn't have long to wait. By the time he was finished eating, Var and Denai were jogging up towards their camp, coming in from the city. Jegojah was studying the maps that Tarrin had Conjured for him, and he could already see that the two of them were decidedly nervous. No doubt that Sarraya had filled their heads with all sorts of wild stories. He was pretty angry with them. He had no idea what possessed them to follow him. He specifically warned them of the danger, and of how angry it would make him. But they did it anyway. They came into camp looking like children caught stealing the pie, heads low and expressions anxious.
But looking into Denai's face told him everything he needed to know. Of course they followed him. Selani didn't just let friends go off and face danger alone. Denai looked pretty nervous, but underneath it was a look of concern and almost haughty pride at what she had done. Denai wasn't about to let Tarrin go running off into danger alone. It wasn't the Selani way. Selani thought of we long before they thought of I. Obviously, Denai had more or less adopted Tarrin in her mind's eye.
"You have no idea how lucky you are that there's no more danger," Tarrin growled at them. "If you'd have come two days earlier, I may have killed you myself."
"Then the danger is passed?" Var asked calmly.
"Jegojah, he was the danger, yes," the undead warrior cackled. "But Jegojah and the Were-cat, they have come to an understanding. Enemies no longer, the Were-cat and Jegojah are, no."
"Who is Jegojah?" Denai asked.
"He is," Tarrin said, pointing at Jegojah. "Certain peculiarities of language makes him speak of himself in the third person. You'll get used to it."
"I meant to ask why you were sharing a camp with a zombie," Var noted.
"Zombie, no," Jegojah told him. "Revenant, Jegojah is."
That made Var's head pick up. "And who is your target?"
"None here, Selani, no," Jegojah replied. Revenant. That was an old term, something that his father had told him about. It was an old soldier's tale that sometimes, men who were murdered violently sometimes rose from the dead and tracked down their murderers. When they killed them, they went on to their rest. They were called Revenants. Jegojah said that Pygas had granted him a year and a day to avenge himself against Kravon. It clicked that it must have been Pygas who was responsible for the Revenants, and that they were very real. "Jegojah, he and the Were-cat share a focus on the man Jegojah hunts. Both, this man has harmed, yes. When Jegojah strikes, he will strike for both."
"Then may the Holy Mother bless your hunt, Revenant," Var said seriously. "The enemies of Tarrin are enemies of the Selani."
"Jegojah accepts the blessing proudly, yes," Jegojah replied ceremoniously.
"You're getting off the subject, Var," Tarrin said hotly. "Why did you follow me? I warned you what would happen if you did, but you did anyway!"
"We don't leave friends alone," Denai said bluntly. "You think something as small as a little threat is going to stop us, Tarrin? My father threatens to kill me on a daily basis. It loses its impact after a few years."
Tarrin blew out his breath, then threw up his paws. "I give up," he announced, then he stalked away from them.
"Don't worry, he's already decided to let you stay," Sarraya said grandly as he walked away. "He didn't kill you. That's always a good sign."
Var and Denai assimilated themselves into the camp, and back into Tarrin's life, with shocking ease and speed. By the time he returned, they had their own tent, had hunted down a stray sukk somewhere, and were roasting parts of it over an efficiently dug firepit, lined with stones and with a spit erected over it. Denai was tending the meat as Var and Jegojah looked over the maps. Jegojah was, from the sound of it, debating with Var over troop movements and possible weaknesses in trying to set up a defensive picket at the Citadel of the Hill, to slow the ki'zadun down.
"What are you doing?" Tarrin asked them.
"The Selani, he wanted to know what Jegojah was studying, yes. So Jegojah, he explained things."
Var looked at Tarrin. "Your city is in danger?" he asked quickly.
"It's not the city that worries me, Var," Tarrin replied. "What the ki'zadun is doing is trying to banish my Goddess from the world. They can't destroy her, or get rid of her permanently, but if they succeed, there's a very good chance that it will kill most of the Sorcerers, any with strong ties to the Weave. Including me."
"This cannot be allowed to happen," Var said adamantly. "The enemies of our friends are our enemies. My clan will stand against this force that threatens your goddess."
"This isn't your war, Var," Tarrin told him.
"It is now," he said bluntly. "You are shida to my clan, and if you know anything of us, that makes you as one of us. The Clan does not abandon its own."
"I'm not asking for your help, Var," Tarrin told him. "This is a matter that doesn't concern the Selani. No need for you to get involved."
"It is our matter if we say it is our matter," he countered. "The Holy Mother herself will command me to call the Clan, no matter what you say. Just as you are shida to us, you form a bond between the Holy Mother and your goddess, who are sisters. The Holy Mother will not turn her back on a sister in need. And I will not disobey my Goddess, not for any reason."